Spoiler: Preamble It just occurred to me that the sense of turning on the TV and learning that this week's episode of Primetime Drama will just be a rerun so I should go outside and frolic among the weed-grown car husks and slash piles is... completely gone. Digression ↑ I've written one novel and started a second. One thing that immediately hit me during the planning phase was that I was tempted to write the same plot beats but with a different setting, tone, and theme. I intentionally resisted that plot grove (in this case, Rebels and Tyrants Play Cat and Mouse™), and for the better. Some prolific authors tend to start writing the same plot over and over. It's not a bad thing, especially if they're deep in the shake'n'bake genre game and making money hand over cockatrice. A certain type of reader will prefer that, and another type will eventually move on. As for the author, for some reason that seems different than the fatigue that band members feel writing and performing the same kind of music. One argument could be that theme and character are such defining parts of a story that an author really won't feel stale if he stays in a particular plot format. I'm not talking broadly, like Hero's Journey which could be applied to basically anything, but more so distinct conventional dyes like The Heist. Do you find yourself inclined to having similar specific plot elements from book to book? Does it even bother you at all?
I'm currently writing a series, so the plot is following a very specific line through the books. I will say that I've noticed my ideas for future projects are different in some cases, but the series I'm writing now and the duology I'm plotting next both have desert settings, apocalyptic cannibals, and grim hope for the years ahead. So, perhaps I am rather a repeat. I, personally, like to read stories about "wasteland" apocalypses, so I'm writing what I like to read in this case. I don't know if my experience is much help to this question, but I wanted to say this post made me laugh and I was delighted reading it. It's also a good question I'm going to think more about throughout the evening.
I find if I spot a rehash in an author it gives me a bad taste in my mouth. It might not stop me from eating but it takes me out of the story. I think that's the main danger.
